Generational Differences

It seems that many places we turn to these days regarding office conflicts identify and discuss generational differences. Are there generational differences? The simple answer is yes, we are all affected by the events of our formative years and those events influence our actions for a lifetime. 

And, as each generation tries to leave its “mark” on the world, they tend to identify the faults of the generation before and after them. It seems easier to separate our generations from each other than to try to understand how others may have been affected by the events that shaped their world. 

In order to understand ourselves, it is imperative to understand what influenced those before us and how we are influencing those generations coming after. What was considered a norm for a baby boomer in 1955 may seem, even to that same boomer, antiquated in 2023. This means that the “boomer” and the world have learned from experiences, progression in medicine, education, and world events. 

It is not unusual to try to correct the mistakes of the past without realizing that those corrections may be viewed as mistakes by those in the future. These feelings of being judged and generalized can lead to conflict in our work environments. And yet those differences are not as hard to overcome as we would like to believe. Taking the time to learn about and acknowledge people’s points of view is the first step to overcoming these generational differences. 

Understanding and training our teams to appreciate the various styles that each generation brings to our workplace only strengthens our outcomes and increases the competence of everyone on the team. Learning skills from different perspectives is how to decrease many of those conflicts.

The Generational Mix in the Workplace webinar is designed to do just that by reacquainting you with the various generations and the events that shaped their lives. When you take the time to understand how events define our generations, impacting a person’s perceptions, assumptions, values, and expectations, the better equipped you are to flex your style to respond to others using their “language” by acknowledging their concerns. 

During this program, we will discuss ideas on the best ways to communicate with the various generations, suggestions on holding those virtual meetings, and other tips to engage all employees. Suggestions on using collaborative problem-solving techniques are also discussed so that all people of all generations feel that their concerns are being heard and that they are being respected.

This event is created to increase appreciation for all the generations and to also increase the understanding of all the positive contributions that each generation brings to the table. We will discuss how each of the generations in our workforce have made or are making an impact not only in our organizations, but in the world. Each generation has the capacity to build new ideas based on the ideas set before them and pass these on to the next generation for improvement.

The ideas and visions of past generations have led to many things that we take for granted. The improvement on those ideas has moved us forward, and we are expecting those after us to take those ideas even further. 

As we learn to respect those generations before us, those of our same generation, and those generations to come as a society, we will be able to take ideas that seemed impossible 50 years ago to fruition. Even now, as we see new ideas come our way, some trends are leading us back to ideas of the generations before us creating a unique blend of the best of us all.

 


About the Expert

Cheryl Grazier is the Principal of Cheryl Grazier Consulting LLC and has over 20 years of business experience in both the public and private sector as a trusted advisor in the areas of culture change, strategy implementation, program management, team and leadership development. Cheryl has worked in a variety of industries, including communications, government agencies, governmental contracting, and real estate.

She is particularly passionate about developing people skills and leadership capabilities for individuals.

  • Cheryl holds a Master of Science in Instructional Design from Walden University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
  • She also holds several industry certifications including MBTI, DiSC, and FIRO-B.